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Hi, just want to let you know how happy I am with 70D guide. This covers so much more than the manual and makes much more sense. I’ve created a few tiny operating guides in my time and know just how much work and research has gone into this massive and concise work.
As far as I’m concerned the ebook is an absolute bargain for the price and will without a doubt will enrich my user experience.
Thanks
Daven

I purchased your new Nikon Df Experience. Without a doubt, the best Nikon Manual I have ever invested in. I down loaded the e-book to my Amazon Kindle DX and then loaded it onto my 17″ MacbookPro, iMac 27″ and my Samsung GS4.

Your style is a joy to read, incorporating your Df Experience, the Nikon Owners Manual and Df camera together in a way only a well informed Master Photographer could. Your hands on approach works very well for me. I can tell you really had a great experience yourself using the DF! ;-) I own the F, FTN, FE, FE2,—- F6, D700, D800 and now 2 DF’s (1 Black & 1 Silver) These 2 have become my favorite over all my previous Nikons over 50 years. They are a pure joy to shoot… I have posted my 5 Star reports on Amazon.com, The Nikonian’s and passing the word to other local Nikon and other Photog groups here in Southern California.

Wish you much success in Photography (Outstanding Work by the way) and also with the E-Book Experience Manuals >>>———>

I use Nikon d5100 and I’m unable to get satisfactory brightness even in the daylight. Whenever I click pictures, the brightness is not uniform in all pics. Which setting should I change so that all the pics have a good brightness?

Hello, There could be any number of reasons why your image exposures are off. It depends on which Shooting Mode you are using, the current exposure settings that you or the camera is selecting (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), the Exposure Compensation Settings (which may have been adjusted to a setting other than 0), which Metering Mode is in use, and even where the active autofocus point is located. Have a look at my guide Nikon D5100 Experience to learn about all these settings and variables:http://www.fullstopbooks.com/nikon-d5100-experience/

Purchased you manual Nikon D5500 Experience e-book. and was very happy with the way it was put together. Being new to Slr Photography it guided me through the camera settings easily. Thanks for a lot for a great e-book.

Hi, I find your book very informative, I have it in my hand as I read and am impressed with the straight forward logic as it takes me through all the stuff I thought I already knew but I am amazed at the depth and reasoning of the camera body, the way it explains what I need to know to create an image. I have to confess to digressing somewhat when I followed a link to Brian Petersen and his very informative photography book on understanding exposure.
My Canon 5D my 111 is a total joy to own. And your ebook is a fantastic insight
To allow me to get from my kit what I want and a whole lot more.
Many thanks.

Too bad the Canon manual isn’t as well explained, or as easy to read. You’ve certainly gone beyond the terse instructions in their manual, and have provided some very practical tips. So, thanks for that.

Specifically, I was looking for more information regarding ‘Custom’ settings, or ‘My Menu’ configurations. I think what I was expecting from Canon, was something more like configurations/settings for ‘My camera’. For example, if I were doing (say) studio portrait work, for an individual, or group, or table-top small light box photography, it means that I need to spend some time setting up both the lights, camera, and distance calculations before beginning the work. It ‘would be great'(tm) that once I thought through the whole setup process and finally got the various camera menus and settings, including flash settings, that I could simply save this particular camera configuration as ‘My camera – studio 1’, for example. Another ‘standard’ configuration for outdoor flash photography, example sports team shots, wedding (although not for me), etc.

Perhaps I have not yet discovered how to do this, or this feature does not exist, but it would save a whole bunch of fumbling through menus, which is what I’m doing at the moment. For example, I have ‘Flash Control’ saved as one of My Menus, but I still have to push a few more buttons to get down to the Output Power settings. Perhaps I’m just dense?

If you have any insight into how I can easily get from wake-up defaults, to ‘My camera – Studio’ with just one or two button presses, that work be perfect.

Thank you for the kind feedback! Feel free to write a review of the guide on Amazon, where I offer the Kindle version – thanks!

For the custom camera settings, have a look at the Custom Shooting Mode (C Mode) menu item of the Setup 4 Menu, which will allow you to assign your selected Menu and Custom Function Settings to the “C” Mode on the top Mode Dial. My guide explains this in Section 3.5, Setup 4 Menu. Unfortunately, you will only be able to assign one group of settings, as there is only one C Mode location on the dial. Other Canon models offer 2 or 3 C modes, which are more useful for multiple shooting set-ups.

As far as the Flash Exposure Compensation or output level, you can quickly access that using the Q Button and Quick Control Screen.

I was afraid that might be the case, but hoped there might be a work around. I guess I’ll have to determine which might be the most complicated configuration, and save that one as my ‘Custom’.

Certainly, given the amount of software this camera possesses, it would not have taken much effort to provide, say, 6 Custom possible configurations. Perhaps in a future firmware release, Canon might respond to customer’s (my) comments. But that could be just wishful thinking on my part.

Or, since I’m quite familiar with Manual mode, that might be the best course of action for me.

Doug,
My new D750 and f4 24-120 “kit lens” arrived yesterday. I just downloaded your D750Experience, and read the 50 normal lens blog. Very informative. My question is your thoughts on the 35 mm as a prime lens instead of the 50. Is the perspective really better on the 50? In either case, I understand the concept of zooming with my feet.
Thanks, Charles

Hello, either lens can work great as a prime lens. The 50mm more closely replicates the view / perspective with your eyes, especially with the full-frame D750, so the 35mm is going to be pretty wide on an FX camera, though I don’t believe that it will “warp” the perspective. The choice really comes down to how much of the scene you want to capture while standing at a typical distance from your subject. For example, if you are working really up close and personal, such as capturing a family gathering indoors, or shots of kids, the 50mm might not be wide enough for the whole scene and the 35mm could be better. But if you are working outdoors capturing portraits or scenes, the 35mm might be too wide and keep requiring you to get closer. I suggest trying out both lenses in the types of situations you wish to use them (or just set your 24-120mm at 35mm, and then at 50mm, and test it that way.)

Doug,
You helped me before to make an informed choice by purchasing a 650D kit which included a 18 – 135 STM lens instead of a 700D kit with 18 – 55 and 70 – 300 lens. Now need your opinion again about whether a 760D on sale price is a sufficient upgrade to warrant a change and if so if it is a better option than a 750D(not on sale) which is currently selling at a premium of 60 dollars above the 760D. I suspect that the dealer ordered too many 760D’s and is trying to liquidate stock. I note that you have not published a 750/760 Experience guide?

Hello, I’m glad I could help previously! Yes, I was not able to write a 750D/760D guide when the cameras were released because I simply didn’t have the time.

Regarding upgrading from the 700D to the 760D, there aren’t dramatic differences between the cameras other than the autofocus system (19 points vs 9 points), an improved metering system, and the addition of Wi-Fi, a slight increase in megapixels, plus the addition of the command dial control and top LCD panel to the 760D. If you have consistently found that you need more autofocus points in the Viewfinder, such as to better assist you with composition and/ or to track moving subjects, then I would consider the upgrade. Or you might wish to upgrade if you find that you are often changing the settings as you shoot, and it would be helpful to have the improved controls and top LCD screen. There are some additional minor differences in the menus, which you can learn about in the reviews on DP Review and other sites, but nothing dramatic.

It is interesting that the 760D is less expensive than the 750D, as the 760D is a “better” camera due to the additional controls. Yes, they must have too many still left in inventory. HOWEVER, you should be aware that the 750D/760D are possibly reaching the end of their lifespan, and are likely to be replaced soon. I have not yet heard any rumors, but these models have been out for about as long as the 700D was out before it was replaced. I imagine the 750D/760D replacement will be a single camera (800D?), and similar to the 760D in its controls, and will likely have the same 19 point AF system. At that point, you may wish to consider the 800D, or you will find that the 760D is even cheaper!

Thank you very much for your input – as before it helps me to make an informed decision. If an (800D) is in the offing then I will wait to see what will be new and, if not much, then a 760D purchase at that point in time will probably be indicated provided the price difference is still available. I have found that I encounter difficulty in successfully tracking moving subjects so the 19 point system will be an advantage. The improved controls and top LCD screen I feel will also be an advantage as I often do change settings as I shoot(Especially in M mode).
I appreciate that you are available as a sounding board as I live in a rural area and photographic experience is sadly lacking and I am not convinced that internet reviews are not often biased towards brands. And thank you for finding the time in your busy schedule to reply!

Thanks for your observations. I do have autofocus issues trying to track moving subjects and am often changing settings when shooting in M mode. Do however take note of the possibility of replacement of the 760D in the near future and am therefore going to wait to see what changes will be incorporated before taking a final decision. Like the idea of the improved controls and the top LCD screen which is probably incorporated from higher end models.
Really appreciate the fact that you are willing to discuss these matters as I live in a rural area with virtually no access to informed photographic knowledge and am not always sure that reviews on internet sites are not influenced by preference for brands. Thanks also for taking time out of your busy schedule to reply.
Apologies for replying late but when I did not receive an e-mail reply I realised that I should probably have checked on the blog and have now subscribed to the feed.
Keep well and wishing you continued success in your achievements. Regards, Neels

I have the kindle version of “The 6d Experience”. Thank you for the clear and thorough coverage of all this cameras features! I love my kindle version but would like to be able to print a pdf version…is that available anywhere?

Hi Doug, I did the settings for my D750 based on the book. However, I never got the same results as displayed on page 709, Figure 33. Also, when I use DX auto the picture in the view finder appears to be a circle with the cropped lines of the Dx format.

Doug,
I purchased your book on operation of the Nikon D750 camera and found it to be very beneficial in understanding the camera. I have even recommended it to others who have then purchased it.
My question is have you considered adding a troubleshooting section? On several occasions I have been in a situation where the camera didn’t act as expected. I eventually found and corrected the problem and I’m sure I learned from it, but a troubleshooting section would have made finding the problem a lot easier.

Hello, I am glad you have found the book helpful, and thanks for recommending it! Regarding the troubleshooting, thank you for the suggestion. I will consider adding that to the guides. Until then, I believe the Nikon manual has a decent troubleshooting section. And I hang out on the D750 Facebook pages and help to troubleshoot issues. Plus you can always email me with questions!